Little Guys Stick Together
by Freida Right
Summary: A string of short scenes, concerning a certain Ralad and a certain Dread Gnome running around and acting very, very silly...
1. The Staring Contest

This thing is on something of an impulse which I refuse to help any longer. It's been on my mind for a while and darn it, I'm gonna write it! You see, Gla-Thon is fantastic, and Manus is adorable, and they both make me smile a little more than I should at my age. But the idea that they are probably hommies makes me short circuit from an overload of possibilities and silliness.

No, I am not saying that I ship them together. I'm just saying, if they teamed up, they could cause a lot of hilarious mischief. And, both being short, non-human, and blue, I imagine they get along quite nicely.

So basically—as the story summary says—this is just a series of short scenes I've thought of, concerning Gla-Thon and Manus running around and acting very, very silly. Because this fandom needs a jolt of humor, I think. ;D

_Hint: I am mixing the anime and the many, __many__ books for this one. I need Glock alive, but I also need Lindal's fabulous self. Imagine that two or three years have passed since Sister of the South. Also imagine that these scenes happen only happen when the tribes representatives gather to hang out and celebrate stuff, as they must. ;) _

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_The Staring Contest_

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It had started off innocently, as it might have been expected, because it started with a simple staring contest. However, said contest was between Doom and Glock, and at Gla-Thon's request, so someone should have thought to be a little nervous, at least.

The busty little gnome had insisted that she was only curious, and only meant for the contest to last a minute or two. But the two men were, of course, extremely competitive. Glock had just insisted on a sixth round when Manus had wandered in and become interested.

"What are the rules?" he had asked. "Laughing, or blinking?"

"Blinking," Gla-Thon had answered over her shoulder.

Even more interested, Manus had tossed a gold coin on the table, distracting the competitors and ruining the round.

"In that case, I bet one gold coin on Glock," the Ralad man had grinned.

Ignoring Doom's indignant glare, Gla-Thon had grinned back and pulled a coin of her own from her pocket and thrown it on the table.

"Then my gold is on Doom."

"You're on!"

With that, the two had pulled up chairs and sat with their elbows propped on the dining hall table, waiting expectantly for their comrades to restart the round. Peeved that their friends were betting against them, Doom and Glock stared at them in disbelief; however, they were both determined to win the contest now, and quickly turned their glares back on each other.

Now that there was money on the table, the round lasted much longer than the previous ones. After two minutes had passed, Gla-Thon began to grow impatient.

"Blink," she hissed at Glock, poking his forehead. "Blink, Glock, blink. Make me a rich woman."

"Gla-Thon, you are a Dread Gnome," Doom growled, still without blinking. "You have more gold in your pocket right now than we have in the royal treasury."

"But I haven't won any of it from Manus," she drawled, "so it hardly counts, now does it?"

Doom grumbled to himself, but still didn't blink.

Abruptly, Glock looked away and down at his small friends with a cunning smile.

"You know what I'd like to see?" he demanded cleverly. "I'd like to see the two of you have a go at it."

Manus and Gla-Thon stared at him in confusion, wondering if the contest had been won, and by whom. Doom began to chuckle at them.

"I'd like to see that, too," he agreed. "I'd even put my money on Gla-Thon, since she was kind enough to put her money on me."

It seemed that the contest had been abandoned, and that neither of them had won the wager. Annoyed but intrigued, the two exchanged places with their friends at the table. Manus and Gla-Thon now sat across from each other, one facing the other squarely, while Doom and Glock sat beside each other to watch.

The new contest might have been completely friendly, until the two men threw their gold down on the table. Then they sat with their arms resting on the table, watching their small friends expectantly, teasing them in the best way they could think of.

And now it was personal. Both determined to win, they began to stare intensely at each other.

This continued for about an hour. Over the course of that hour, the rest of their friends drifted into the dining room to see what was happening, ask the rules, place their bets, and then stand around to marvel at the sight of a Ralad and a Dread Gnome locked in a staring match.

Though they never took their eyes off each other for a second, they were very aware of their former companions standing around them, making comments and lightly teasing each other. Doom and Glock were still siitting at the table, gawking at them in complete disbelief. Zeean and Fardeep stood together, shaking their heads occasionally; Steven stood beside them, hiding a smile behind his hand. Lindal and Barda stood to the side, watching a little too closely, because they had both bet enthusiastically on the contest. Every now and then, Barda would whisper to his wife to ask what she had planned for supper; Lindal would hush him and warn not to ask her again, because she had no idea and was too rapt by the contest to think about it.

Though their friends had a lot invested in them by now, it was clear that they were growing bored with the waiting. For themselves, Manus and Gla-Thon were exhausted. Their eyes were dry, and felt like sandpaper. Staring as intently at each other as they were, they could see how red their eyes had become over the last hour. Both of their faces felt ridged and stiff. They both wanted the contest to come to an end. But neither of them was willing to blink and end the thing.

This thought occurred to them at the same time, and they scowled at each other across the table.

"Blink," Manus grumbled.

"No, you blink," Gla-Thon grumbled back.

Manus scowled harder at her, and leaned across the table. "No, _you_ blink," he demanded, raising his voice in desperation.

Gla-Thon also leaned across the table, practically into his face, and shot him a look that could melt solid bone.

"No, _you_ blink."

"No, _you_ blink!"

"_No, you blink, dammit!"_

Somewhere nearby, they heard Zeean sigh tiredly.

"Manus, Gla-Thon, this is just sad," they heard her say.

At the same time, they noticed Fardeep nudging her gently. "I'd put two silvers on Gla-Thon, though," he said quietly, just loudly enough to be heard.

Zeean sighed again and hung her head slightly in defeat. "I shall take you up on that, my friend," she agreed politely.

"We should have brought snacks," Glock exclaimed suddenly, throwing his hands in the air. "This is getting tiresome."

Linda's face lit up at the idea, and she turned to look at her husband. "Snacks would have been a fantastic idea," she said loudly. "Barda, why didn't you think of it?"

Manus and Gla-Thon couldn't see how Barda reacted, because he was behind them. Knowing him well, though, they imagined that he was rolling his eyes, unable to see how the problem was his fault.

But it paled to utter insignificance to the fact that he had bet three silver coins on Manus, and his wife had placed three on Gla-Thon, and neither competitor was willing to let anyone down.

"What on earth is going on in here?"

While the two didn't turn to look with everyone else, the voice was unmistakable. It was Jasmine's, confused and disbelieving. They could picture her with her hands planted severely on her hips, silently demanding an explanation. And they could easily imagine that Lief must be with her. Alerted by their friends yelling at each other, of course they had come along to see what was going on.

Barda suddenly cleared his throat. "Just a staring contest," he said simply, not looking away.

"What are the rules?" came Lief's voice, curious but also nervous. "Laughing or blinking?"

"Blinking," everyone answered at the same time.

"How long has this been going on?" Jasmine demanded, possibly concerned by the pile of coins in the middle of the table. Everyone was silent, looking around at each other, expecting someone to have an answer to the queen's very good question. It felt like they were all waking from the same dream.

After this moment of stunned silence, Steven fished a pocket watch from his coat and checked it. The face he made was halfway between alarm and amusement.

"Why, it's been nearly an hour since I came in," he said with a nervous laugh. "My, how time can fly when one is having fun…"

Realizing at once what this meant or Manus and Gla-Thon, the king and queen groaned in annoyance and began shooing their friends away from the table.

"This contest is over," LIef announced loudly. "Everyone pick up your coins, no one's won anything, it's just _over_."

Somewhat relived to have been released, Manus and Gla-Thon moved to blink for the first time in more than an hour.

To their shock, they couldn't do this. So hard they had stared at each other, and for so long, it was like they had sealed their eyes open permanently. They couldn't even move their eyes to look around. While their friends disappointedly milled around, they gaped at each other in speechless horror.

Seeing their hesitation, Jasmine turned to them. "Manus, Gla-Thon, the contest is over. Now blink, for the love of all things!"

"I'm trying," Gla-Thon mumbled, focusing all her strength into forcing her eyes shut, and failing.

"Me too," Manus added, gripping the table in concentration and fear.

"I think our eyes are stuck…"

There was another stunned silence. Apparently, none of the heroes had ever encountered something quite so ridiculous before. True to their natures, Lindal and Glock began to laugh so hard that they nearly fell over.

"Can someone get us a medic?" Manus squeaked, mostly in Lief's direction. "Please?"

Lief groaned in aggravation, running his fingers through his hair, possibly so he didn't use them to strangle any of his friends. Then he turned and walked out, calling for his mother to come and help him.

"I'd still like to know who won," Doom grumbled. "I had five gold coins on the table, and was looking forward to the payoff."

"Who cares who won?" Gla-Thon snapped at him. "We can't close our eyes!"

Jasmine swatted her father over the head, and then plucked five coins off the table.

"I can't believe you," she said, thrusting the coins into his hand. "All of you, just take your money and get out!

Lindal sighed deeply as she picked her money out of the pile. "That's a pity. With winnings like that, we could have _bought_ supper."


	2. Single Ladies

So, I go to add characters to the story stats, and it turns out that Manus isn't listed for some reason. You beautiful people can bet your collective behinds that this will be fixed soon. _Very_ soon…

This next one is blatantly based on something else, but it was too funny to resist. ;D

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_Single Ladies_

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Gla-Thon was annoyed. The small group of Dread Gnomes who had come to Del this year happened to include all three of the boys trying to court her. The trip each year was supposed to be her vacation. It was supposed to be her chance to see all her old friends again. And normally, her own people left her that space.

Instead, three of the clingiest and most desperate of the Gnomes were with her this year, and refused to leave her in any kind of peace. And it left her open to all sort of teasing from her friends. Gla-Thon was charming and quite pretty, as Dread Gnomes went, and her companions all loved her dearly. But she was also an independent and strong willed woman. It was hard for people to picture her on someone's arm.

She had already wondered several times if Fa-Glin was playing some kind of prank on her, by including these boys in the group. She wondered it again, and wondered what she had done to deserve it, as she finally stood alone with some of her real friends. They were passing around a bottle of wine—cleverly smuggled from the palace cellar, via secret passage—which quickly found its way into her hands.

"I can't stand these boys," she grumbled, drinking a little more than a fair share of the wine, and then passing it to Manus, who was on her right. "I don't know how I'm supposed to hide from them for the rest of the week. It's bad enough at home."

Doom smirked down at her, always happy to tease her some more. "You really should think about finding a good man and settling down, though. If you wait much longer, all the good ones will be gone."

In response, Gla-Thon scoffed, crossed her arms, and stuck out her considerable chest. "No. I shall never married," she announced. "I will ride off into the sunset all by myself, thank you very much."

Barda chuckled lightly at her enthusiasm, as if he didn't believe her. "And what do you suppose you will be riding on?" he asked.

At first, Gla-Thon couldn't answer him—the only beast she had ever ridden was a Kin, and she had since discovered, being a rather short creature, that she had no head for heights.

Seeing her obvious dilemma, Manus dropped the mostly empty bottle on the ground, and then knelt without warning to scoop Gla-Thon onto his shoulders.

"She can ride on me," he said helpfully. "I could run like this for days!"

Gla-Thon laughed in amusement and triumph, and Manus began to march purposefully out of the courtyard.

"That's right," she proclaimed as he carried her off. "I shall stay single forever, and let my hair flow in the wind as I ride through the glen on Manus' mighty shoulders, firing arrows into the sunset!"

They were clearly having a wonderful time. Doom and Barda stared after them in perfectly utter confusion.

"I'm not even going to ask what just happened," Doom muttered after a moment.

Meanwhile, Barda had picked up the empty bottle and was looking it over suspiciously. "What the heck was in this…?"


	3. Two Little Bears

And suddenly, this came to me like lightning out of the blue. Anna and Ursa may make appearances in….. Other things…..

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_Two Little Bears_

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So, there stood Manus and Gla-Thon on one of the castle walls, looking over a booby trap there that had malfunctioned. While everyone was around that year, Manus had agreed to fix it, and had hauled his impressive chest of tools up the wall to make the repair. Gla-Thon had gone with him, because they hadn't finished their conversation, and also Manus was much more fun to be around than Glock.

They had been there all morning, and eventually agreed to take a short break around midday. It was the lunch hour, and they were both hungry. Leaving most of Manus' tools neatly scattered on the wall, they strolled down toward the kitchen.

That stroll was leisurely and uneventful, for most of the way. And then they crossed paths with Lief and Barda, who were stalking down the same hallway in the different direction, looking as if they were hunting for something, and very irritated. Seeing their small friends, the two men looked relieved and slightly hopeful.

"I'm glad we met you," Lief said impatiently, rushing to meet them. "Have you seen Anna and Ursa anywhere?"

"No one has seen them since this morning," Barda growled, worried in spite of himself. "We've searched this palace from top to bottom, and we simply can't find them anywhere!"

Manus did a poor job of stifling a laugh. "You've misplaced those two _again_? This is the third time this week! How hard can it be to lose such a loud pair of girls?"

"They can be alarmingly quiet when it's time for their lessons," Lief grumbled.

Gla-Thon chuckled and shook her head. "All children are the same, that way. I certainly was. I'm sorry, but we haven't seen them. Manus and I have been on the wall all this time. But we will certainly keep our eyes open for them."

Barda nodded his thanks. "If you do happen to find them, drag them to the courtyard. Their mothers are waiting there for them."

Happy to help, but always prepared to tease Barda for his very prestigious title, they both gave him a stiff salute. It was so out of their characters, it was hard to tell if they were being serious or not. Confused, Barda made a face and backed away a bit.

"I hate it when you do that," he growled. "It makes me wonder if you're up to something."

"Don't worry," Gla-Thon insisted. "Of course you can trust us."

Barda just hummed doubtfully, frowning at her suspiciously. Pleased with the look on his face, she turned to the king.

"Come, now, Lief," she said brightly, planting her hands on her hips. "Tell him that he can trust us."

Lief made the same doubtful humming sound, his frown only slightly less. It had been a while since she had seen him so annoyed.

"Just…" Lief began, and then seemed to change his choice of words as he turned to go on his way. "If you see our daughters, take them to the courtyard, and don't let them trick you into letting them go. Anna can be… Persuasive."

"And Ursa bites," Barda added over his shoulder.

Manus and Gla-Thon wondered over all this as they continued on their own way. Neither of them knew the little princess or her rather tall companion as well as they would have liked. All they really knew of Anna and Ursa was that they were loud, clever, lightning fast, and deceptively cute. The two were inseparable, as well—they were only ever apart whenever Ursa went with her mother to the eastern coast.

Apparently, the girls also hated their lessons, and had therefore become very good at hiding. Manus wondered if perhaps they had discovered the network of secret passages hidden within the walls, and were learning to navigate them under everyone's noses. He inwardly hoped this was so, because in that case there was much he might be able to learn from them. On the other hand, they were six and seven years old. And he reasoned, if he had discovered a secret tunnel system at that age, he would have used it mostly to steal sweets from the kitchen.

Only half an hour later, the two returned to the wall. Having not seen the missing girls, they had mostly forgotten to keep their eyes open for them. In fact, when they returned to the wall, Manus was more concerned with his tools. Certainly, they had been left where they lay, but he had left them in a certain order. It seemed like someone had tramped that way while he had been gone, and scattered his ordered tools around haphazardly.

Fuming and grumbling to himself, Manus knelt to pick his tools up. "Who would do something like this? Anyone with a pair of eyes would have seen that I placed these here on purpose. It's as if someone deliberately made a mess of my things!"

Gla-Thon knelt beside him to help, and paused as she picked up a wrench. She looked it over, and then frowned. "Manus? I don't remember you pulling this thing out."

She held out the wrench for Manus to see, and he frowned, also. "Neither do I. I don't think I even need that for this project…"

Still thinking little of it, they finished gathering his tools back into some semblance of order. Manus took the wrench, along with a pair of pliers and a pick axe which he also didn't remember taking out, and went to put them away.

"How on earth could I have misplaced these?" he wondered, opening the lid of the chest. "After all, it isn't as if—"

All at once, his question was answered. As he opened the tool chest, Manus and Gla-Thon jumped with surprise to find two little girls huddled side by side inside it. The larger of the two was raven haired, with deliberately defiant hazel eyes; the smaller girl's blonde hair was wild and unbrushed, and her green eyes were instantly recognizable. Upon being discovered, the two stared up in similar surprise, and then offered a pair of innocent, sheepish grins.

They looked so remarkably like their fathers in that moment, it completely robbed Manus of words. But Gla-Thon was not fazed, and leaned down to peer into the chest.

"Anna, Ursa, what are you doing in there?" she demanded. "People have been looking everywhere for you!"

"Shh," Ursa pleaded, holding a finger to her lips. "We've been hiding all over the place for hours, and our das _still_ haven't found us." It sounded as if she had lost a tooth recently, because she kept whistling slightly as she spoke.

Anna giggled beside her. "We'll never have to go back to our lessons, if we keep it up," she said triumphantly.

Recovering from his start, Manus shook his head and held up his misplaced tools. "You took these out of the chest, didn't you," he guessed.

Ursa shrugged. "We had to make room. And the axe was poking into Anna's shoulder and making her cry, so I got rid of it." Anna nodded vigorous agreement, looking at her friend with admiration.

Gla-Thon crossed her arms, unimpressed. "You know, your fathers are going distracted looking for you. They said they've searched this whole palace."

The girls shifted uneasily at the mention of their fathers, and the thought of how they would be punished if they were found. Then Ursa pouted and folded her own arms. "Well, they aren't so great at finding things, then, are they?"

"Your mothers were also looking for you," Manus said gently. "They're waiting for you down in the courtyard. Why don't we go see them?"

This time, the girls shook their head, looking absolutely terrified.

"The mums are even worse!" Anna squeaked. "They'll say no sweets for a week! And my mum will make me wear the leash again! Nuh-uh, we're staying right here, where it's safe."

Gla-Thon was about to say something sharp in response, but Manus cut her off by shrugging carelessly. "Alright, that's fine. The two of you can stay in here for as long as you like."

Surprised but pleased, the two girls grinned up at him. Anna was missing a front tooth, herself; Ursa was missing three. No wonder she whistled as much as she talked.

"Thanks, Manus. You're the best!" Anna chirped, her green eyes sparkling with a mischief that was entirely too familiar. Smiling down at them, Manus shut the lid of the tool chest, hiding them from view.

Arms still crossed, Gla-Thon glared at him. "What do you mean by this?" she demanded in a low voice. "We need to take them to their parents!"

"I know," Manus said evenly, picking up the iron bar that sealed the chest shut. Wordlessly, he threaded the bar through it fixtures and twisted it into place. Gla-Thon understood immediately—and so, it seemed, did Anna and Ursa. Hearing the bar sliding into place, he two girls began pounding on the lid of the chest, trying in vain to lift it. When they couldn't, they began to shout in alarm and demand that Manus let them out.

"I'll tell da that you locked us in a dirty old chest if you don't let us out right now!" Anna wailed from inside.

"I think he will understand completely," Manus called back. He bent and lifted the whole chest awkwardly up onto his shoulder, causing more shouts of alarm from the girls. They began to rock the chest as hard as they could, still demanding to be released. Manus would have stumbled and fallen, thrown off balance by the girls' fit, if Gla-Thon hadn't jumped to the rescue, catching the other end of the chest and holding it steady.

"What was it she said about a leash?" Gla-Thon grunted to her friend. "It seems like a reasonable idea."

If he hadn't been trying so hard to balance the chest on his shoulder, Manus would have laughed out loud. Struggling to hold the rocking chest up between them, they started off in the general direction of the courtyard.

And, as it happened, they didn't even need to go that far. They found Lief and Barda again, speaking to a pair of guards—likely about their missing children—long before they came near the courtyard. Finding them made Gla-Thon gasp in relief, because the thought of having to haul the very noisy chest down two flights of stairs had made her increasingly anxious.

It didn't take long for them to be noticed, either. They had only just turned into the hallway when the exhausted looking fathers looked up, alerted by the sudden sound of their daughters screaming for help and hollering about treachery. When they saw Manus and Gla-Thon stumbling down the hall toward them under the weight of a squirming, wailing tool chest, they somehow seemed even more exhausted.

"Please do not tell me our children are in that chest," Lief sighed tiredly, rubbing his hand over his face.

His two friends dropped the chest on the floor with a graceless thump, causing the girls to shriek. Gla-Thon flopped over the sealed lid, wobbling and out of breath. Even Manus, for all his extraordinary strength, was tired from that short adventure.

"The girls are in this chest," he said flatly, choosing to ignore what Lief had just said, as the chest went on thumping violently. "I'm sorry about this, but we had no other options."

"We can hardly blame you," Barda answered crisply. "I hope they didn't cause you too much trouble."

"No, not really. Although, once the girls are secured elsewhere, I'd like my tool chest back, please."

"We'll return it as soon as we can," Lief agreed, looking cheered by his friend's perpetual good attitude.

The thumping inside the chest became more desperate than before, and Ursa cried out, "Da! Open the chest! Let us out!"

"I don't think so, young lady," Barda called back, as he and Lief took hold of the metal rings on either end of the chest, and began to drag it away. "I remember what happened last time. Having my face licked by a seven-year-old is hardly on my list of things to do this day. Just wait until your mothers get a hold of you."

Obviously defeated and frightened, the girls began crying, begging their fathers to let them out so they could escape. But the two men staunchly blocked them out, and were too focused on removing the chest to look back and thank their friends properly.

All the same, Manus and Gla-Thon watched them, shaking their heads in puzzled amusement, until they had disappeared around the corner. Above them, the guards were also shaking their heads, not amused in the slightest.

"That little girl will be our queen one day," one of the guards muttered. "I don't know how I feel about that…."

"I feel perfectly confident," Gla-Thon retorted. "Anna seems like a completely normal child in every way. She will grow to be a great queen."

The guard who had spoken looked down at her uncertainly. "How can you know that?" he asked.

Gla-Thon grinned at him. "Because I was quite the same, when I was a child, and I turned out excellently. Do you not agree?"

"Oh—of course—I mean, naturally, ma'am," the guard stammered, turning red and returning to attention. "My apologies."

Pleased with herself, Gla-Thon stuffed her hands into her pockets and turned back in the direction of the damaged wall. "Come on, Manus," she called over her shoulder. "We'd better get back, before the girls cleverly escape and make a mess of your things again."

And, agreeing, Manus left the guards of a shrug and followed his friend.


	4. Some Things Never Change

Because surely, this mischievous streak they share has to have come from somewhere. I like very much to imagine that Lief's big 7 are all descendants of Adin's big 7, so…. Yep. XD

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_Some Things Never Change_

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Meanwhile, at the forge in Del, Adin gazed with pride and love over his closest friends—all of them comrades he had met on his journey, who had stood by him during that final, terrible battle on the Hira plain. Somehow, all seven of them had survived that battle. However else they felt about that, Adin just felt blessed that they had all been able to come to Del, and humbled that they had all gladly pledged their loyalty to him.

As of this morning, Adin was the king of this land—this land they had all agreed must now be called Deltora. And he had only these gathered friends to thank for it. Greel of the Jalis had believed in his crazy-sounding dream, and had taken him under his wing. Az-Zure of the Dread Gnomes had given him her own name for a title. Zillah of Rithmere, who had once tried to kill him, was now slightly afraid of him since he had spoken to a Lapis Lazuli dragon in the Shifting Sands. Samuel of Del was his best friend from childhood, and had never doubted him for a second. Melissa, leader of the Hiran people, had watched and waited for him, as her ancestors had. Good-natured Padge of Raladin had welcomed him with open arms from the beginning. And beautiful Zara of Tora had already agreed in secret to be his queen.

They were a fine band of friends, and he couldn't have done anything he had done without them. There would have been no quest, no glittering steel belt, and no freedom from the Lord of Shadows without each and every one of their varied skills and talents. And, even more than that, he had come to love each of them in his or her own way. He could no longer imagine his life without them.

"I am glad that you all were able to join me here today," he said to them, feeling inspired to make a small speech. "I know that this has been a long day for us all. It means much to me that you would make time for this."

"But of course," Melissa all but exclaimed. "You are our king now; and besides that, you are our friend. Of course we have made time for you!"

"It means much to us that you would invite us here," Zara agreed, taking his hand with a sincere smile. "Many would say it is an unusual thing for a king to do, but none of us shall complain."

"Thank you," he smiled back. "It has been so hard to get any one of you in one place all day, and I have missed you all, in spite of everything. That was why I asked—"

Adin suddenly found himself distracted by scuffling and muffled laughter from the back of the yard. He peered around his friends, trying to find the source of the noise; and everyone else quickly joined him in peering around, also distracted.

And they quickly discovered Padge and Az-Zure, using their smallness to hide behind Samuel and Greel, while they teasingly poked each other with sticks. As they were revealed and everyone stopped to stare at them in confused disbelief, the Gnome and the Ralad stopped their misbehavior briefly to look up as if they were being completely normal.

"…What?" Az-Zure demanded.

"What on earth are the two of you doing?" Adin asked, wondering why they were cutting up and acting like children when he was trying to pour his heart out in front of them.

"Nothing, nothing," Az-Zure insisted, only to jab Padge with her stick as soon as she finished speaking. Padge squeaked in surprise, and jabbed her back. Then she jabbed him, and he jabbed her—again, as if they were behaving appropriately, not caring that everyone thought they had lost their minds.

Adin suppressed a groan and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Padge and Az-Zure were very friendly, and they worked quite well together. However, when there was no urgent trouble to be addressed, the two tended to be very… Silly. Though Padge was an elder, he was astonishingly young at heart, and very observant and clever; and Az-Zure was as mischievous as a Gnome should be. So naturally, their combined efforts on the battlefield were nothing to sneeze at.

Whenever they put their heads together outside of that, though, they were just plain goofy. It was like they couldn't help themselves.

And they were still jabbing each other with sticks, like bickering school children.

"Samuel, Greel, separate them, please."

More than happy to help, the two largest and strongest of his friends nodded and pushed their sleeves up. Greel snatched Az-Zure off the ground and flung her over his shoulder as if she were a toy; she shrieked unhappily, and dropped her stick. "That is enough out of you, Gnome," he muttered as she fought for her freedom. Fought, and failed. Strong as she was, she simply couldn't wriggle from the clutches of a Jalis knight.

Stalking off in the opposite direction, Samuel had Padge by his waist, hauling the Ralad man away under his arm like a chicken. Padge just kind of hung limply in the bigger man's arm, looking disappointed but unwilling to struggle. "What is the matter with you two?" Samuel grumbled, receiving a vague shrug in response.

And so the two men deposited their friends on opposite ends of the gathering, as far from each other as possible. Az-Zure sized up her new neighbor briefly, trying to decide if it would be fun to engage, but obviously decided against it. She was standing next to fancy, dignified Melissa, now. The Hiran woman would be far less fun to poke with a stick than Padge was. Displeased, Az-Zure crossed her arms and pouted.

On the other end of the group, Padge smiled warmly up at Zillah, who frowned down at him suspiciously and nervously clutched the star pendant around her neck. As if his mischievousness was a bad omen she needed to protect herself from.

Adin shook his head after his friends… And then it dawned on him that, really, all was well and normal. With that settled, he cleared his throat.

"Now, as I was saying…"

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Several centuries later, Lief was standing in the same forge yard, looking over his own band of friends—friends who hadn't helped him create the Belt of Deltora, but to restore it. Friends who had also helped him drive the Shadow Lord out of their land. Friends who had also journeyed to Del that day to pledge their loyalty to a king they knew and trusted.

And so, not unlike Adin had done so long before, Lief surveyed his closest friends with great pride and love. Glock, the last Jalis, who hid a good heart behind his ferocity. Gla-Thon the Dread Gnome, who had taken a chance on him and would never regret it for a second. Fardeep of the Mere, who had been rescued from an enchantment worse than death. Barda, Lief's lifelong guardian and companion. Steven, the peddler from the Plains, who now had real friends for the first time in his life. Manus of Raldin, who still insisted that he owed Lief his life twice over. And Zeean of Tora, who couldn't quite find enough words of gratitude for her king's forgiveness.

And, steadfastly at his side stood Jasmine, who he found grew more and more precious to him with every day that passed.

They were a fine band of friends, and he couldn't have done anything he had done without them. There would have been no quest, no glittering steel belt, and no freedom from the Shadow Lord without each and every one of their varied skills and talents. And, even more than that, he had come to love each of them in his or her own way. He could no longer imagine his life without them.

"I'm glad that all of you could make it," he said brightly, pleased that all his friends were with him. "It's been a busy day. I was scared some of you might not be here."

Glock laughed sharply to that. "Of course we all made it! The only reason most of us are here in the first place is to celebrate _you_! Where else would we be?"

"Indeed," Zeean agreed, much more calmly. "And we were glad of the invitation. Great celebrations are all good and well, but it is a wonderful thing to be gathered here together like this."

"It's never been just us before," Steven pointed out. "We've always been together, but busy. This will be a nice change."

Jasmine tossed her head proudly. "That's what I said. But Lief almost didn't do this, because he thought you would all be too busy for him. He's entirely too nice, sometimes."

With his friends laughing and rolling their eyes at him—because it was exactly the sort of thing he would do—Lief suddenly couldn't help whining at her. "Jasmine, you said you wouldn't—"

But he was distracted from his whining by scuffling and muffled laughter from the back of the group. Jasmine, who was about to stick her tongue out at him, was also distracted.

"Who's making all that noise?" she wondered, looking around for the source of the noise, and prompting everyone else to do the same.

And they quickly discovered Manus and Gla-Thon, using their smallness to hide behind Barda and Glock, while they teasingly poked each other with sticks. As they were revealed and everyone stopped to stare at them in confused disbelief, the Gnome and the Ralad stopped their misbehavior briefly to look up as if they were being completely normal.

Suddenly, Lief felt the odd sensation that he had already lived this moment, somehow…

"What? Is there something on my face?" Gla-Thon asked. It was hard to tell if she was being serious or not.

"What are the two of you doing?" Jasmine demanded in disbelief. "Lief is _trying_ to talk to you!"

Manus scoffed. "She started it," he said, poking his stick into Gla-Thon's shoulder.

"No, _he_ started it," she said immediately, and poked her own stick into his forehead—missing his eye by a hair, and clearly not caring in the friendliest way possible.

And so the poking resumed, while everyone watched and wondered what they were looking at, exactly. The sight of a Dread Gnome and a Ralad man poking each other with sticks, as if they were silly, ordinary children, was amusing as it was uniquely bizarre. No one could tear their eyes away from the spectacle.

Hoping his smallest friends didn't plan on making this a regular thing whenever the team was gathered together, he decided to act.

"Barda, Glock, could you separate them, please?"

Those words felt oddly familiar to him, too. As if he had said them once before, and was just repeating them. It was a curious thing…

The two men nodded in agreement, and did as they were asked. Glock snatched Gla-Thon up and swung her over his shoulder, muttering at her to be quiet and stop kicking and screaming in his ear. Barda scooped Manus under his arm and dragged him off in the opposite direction, wondering out loud what was wrong with them, as his friend also kicked and screamed in vain for escape.

And again, the scene felt oddly, instantly familiar to Lief. But he couldn't understand why, and it puzzled him more and more.

So Barda placed Manus at one end of the group, right next to Zeean. She gave the little man a look, warning him not to bring a stick anywhere near her; and, as to be expected, he smiled and waved in agreement, prompting her to smile and wave back at him. Glock placed fuming, indignant Gla-Thon with a thump on the ground next to him, where he could keep an eye on her. They crossed their arms and scowled furiously at each other, until she finally pouted and looked staunchly in a different direction.

Finally, whatever _that_ had been was over. Lief cleared his throat and tried to remember where he had left off.

"Now, as I was saying…"

He suddenly froze, earning a stir of surprise and concern from his friends as a stunned look spread over his face. That was the very last straw.

"I've done this before!" he exclaimed in frustration. "I've been in _exactly_ this place and done _exactly_ these things and said _exactly_ those words! What is going on?!"

Jasmine sighed and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Oh dear," she said. "I think he's finally lost him mind, everyone…"


	5. The Biggest Baby

I had thought of doing this as a oneshot of its own….. But then suddenly decided that it belonged here, instead. It's very sweet, and I like it very much.

Also, I may have been slightly under the influence while writing this one; so if you see any errors, feel free to point them out. :P

The moment this chapter references was done very, very well in the anime, by the way. Barda and Merrin make the best faces in that scene. It's episode 20-something, I think, if you want to look into it. The rest of _Dread Mountain_ in anime form is kind of hit-or-miss, as there were a lot of liberties being taken by that point in production, it seems; but the first episode or two is pretty much spot on, particularly this moment. ;D

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_The Biggest Baby_

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It was something of a first for Gla-Thon. She was flying to Del for the annual reunion in the pouch of Ailsa, because Merrin was unable to come this year. Merrin's pouch was filled with an infant, so newly born that neither of them were able to move very far yet, let alone fly anywhere.

Gla-Thon and Merrin had much in common and understood each other quite well. Whenever the Gnome had to travel somewhere, it was the rather serious female Kin who always volunteered to carry her where she needed to be. However, seeing as Merrin had given birth just days ago, Gla-Thon didn't mind leaving her friend to herself.

_If I had just pushed a 10-pound child out of my body, I would want to be left alone, too, _Gla-Thon had decided with a chill, wondering how women of any species could entertain such a thought.

And so, the usual Dread Mountain party had set off that morning one short. But they had joyous news to carry to Del. Lief had always had a soft spot for the Kin in his heart; so did Jasmine and Barda, now that they knew the Kin still existed. They would be thrilled to hear that the small tribe of gentle, benevolent creatures had just received its first child in nearly three decades. And that the proud mother was one of their personal friends, no less.

It was exactly the kind of news Lief had been hoping for. The natural, native guardians of his precious homeland were regaining their strength. They had dwindled for a long, terrible time, in the vice grip of the Shadow Lord's evil. But now, they were returning, rebuilding themselves little by little, and returning glory to the land.

He couldn't hope to be a truly _good _king without creatures such as the Kin, and the Dragons. Both races had nearly been wiped out before; and it dawned on Gla-Thon during the long flight to Del that this could hardly be coincidence. There were many subtleties to think of, when it came to the Shadow Lord's cunning, and so she had never thought of this one before. As if sensing her thoughts, Ailsa chuckled lightly to herself.

"I can't wait to tell Lief about Merrin and the baby," the Kin said merrily, raising her voice over the wind. "Just think of how excited he will be!"

"And imagine their faces when we tell them his name," Bruna agreed beside her. "Oh, they will want to return to the mountain with us, just to see if it's all true! They will never believe it—especially not Barda. He is in for a surprise."

"Do you suppose he remembers, Bruna?"

"I hope he does. Even if he doesn't, we remember. We remember all too well. Now he will never live it down. He is going to be so mad when he finds out….!"

Gla-Thon had no idea what the Kin were talking about. It seemed that they had forgotten that she was there, and able to hear them. They were clearly reminiscing about something that had happened before she had become part of the bigger picture. And whatever it was, they were so excited that they were ready to jump out of their skins. Even Prin, on Ailsa's other side, was giggling knowingly to herself.

Suddenly, Gla-Thon felt a bit…. Left out.

But she wasn't willing to damage her voice trying to be heard over the wind, and so she simply pondered it petulantly to herself for the rest of the flight.

Their small party arrived on time, as usual, but they were still the last to arrive because they were so far away. And landing was always awkward for the Kin, since landing in forge yard was never as easy as landing on the wide open palace lawn. All the same, Prin, Bruna, and Ailsa made it safely to the ground, and Gla-Thon tumbled gratefully to solid ground, at last.

Even though she flew places often, she was always inwardly surprised when she reached her destination without harm. Heights had always made her head spin.

And, as usual, the first thing she saw was Manus hovering above her, chuckling at her as he offered his hand.

"Can I get you some water?" he teased, pulling her to her up. "You look a bit pale."

"Oh, quiet, you," she muttered, crossing her arms, and trying not to wobble. It had been hours since she had stood on her own two feet.

Meanwhile, the Kin were padding across the yard to where Lief and Bara were rushing to meet them, exclaiming over how big Prin had grown and asking where Merrin was.

"Where's Jasmine?" Prin asked, instead of answering their question. "I was looking forward to seeing her! We have good news for everyone!"

"She's already at the palace, with everyone else," Lief answered with a shrug. "Anyway, my mother insists on keeping an eye on her. The baby is due later this month, but we suspect it could be any day, now."

Bruna smiled at this. "Don't you mean _babies_? We heard a rumor about twins, not long ago."

Lief answered with a very proud smile of his own. "We were trying to keep it a secret, but… Good news seems to travel faster and faster, these days." Elbowing his friend in the ribs, he added slyly, "I'm not the only one looking forward to twins, either."

Ailsa gasped in surprise. "How many children to you plan to have, Barda? Don't you have several already?"

"Only three, so far," Barda answered lightly.

"_Only_?" Gla-Thon blurted out. "Twins will make five, you know. How are you still sane? More to the point, how is your poor wife still sane?"

"Lindal always wanted lots of children. She will have as many as she wants, and I won't complain. We are rather fond of each other, after all, and we are rather fond of our children, too."

Gla-Thon grimaced, unable to understand it. It seemed like everyone was having children. It only made more room for people like Zeean and Sharn and Glock to pester her about settling down and having babies of her own. That was a thing that would simply never do in her mind.

Prin began to giggle again. "That was our good news, too. Merrin isn't here because she just had a baby of her own! A little boy, born just a few days ago! Isn't it wonderful?"

Their friends exclaimed again in great joy.

"That is wonderful," Lief agreed, his eyes bright with wonder. "How does it feel to not be the littlest anymore, Prin?"

"It feels good. Not that I'm a baby anymore, myself. I'm nearly bigger than my own mother, now."

Prin was very proud not be the youngest anymore. Now that there was a real baby to look after, she was free to be the adult she really was. It was strange to think that she was grown; everyone was so used to lavishing her with attention that she really didn't need or want.

"Oh, we laughed and laughed about it," Ailsa said brightly. "Just think—she really _does_ have the biggest baby."

While everyone else shared a rueful laugh over the comment, Manus made a puzzled face, wondering what that meant to them. Gla-Thon tipped her head to one side and frowned in similar puzzlement.

"That's hardly a feat, she has the only baby," she pointed out sullenly, but the others didn't seem to hear her.

"So, what is this baby's name?" Lief asked.

Ailsa and Bruna snorted with laughter, both pinning Barda with a mischievous look.

"We've named him _Barda_, of course," Bruna laughed. "What else would we have called him?"

While Lief and Prin doubled over with uncontrollable laughter, Barda groaned and let his face sink into his hand.

"I'm never going to live that down, am I…"

Ailsa began to cackle. "That's what we said!"

"Please stop laughing at me."

Gla-Thon shook her head in disbelief, the joke totally lost on her.

"I have no idea what is going on, here."

"That's okay," Manus said with a shrug, placing a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "I don't get it either…"


	6. A Dream Come True

At the request of an anonymous guest, who insisted I should make these two into a ship. I have and have not honored that request today. Though I still can't see Manus and Gla-Thon as a ship, I guess it was bound to come up sooner or later…

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_A Dream Come True_

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The sun was just setting over the hill where they sat alone. The fragrant summer breeze of the Ruby Wild was gently brushing the grass, and their hair and clothes. It was a perfect moment. He took a deep breath of the sweet smelling air and leaned back on his hands.

"It's just you, me, and the moon," he commented, gazing up at the sky. The full moon was already aglow, and stars were winking into view.

Below them, hills and valleys swooped in and out of each other as far as the eye could see. The rough, wild land around them was painted gold and orange in the last light of the sun. Gla-Thon sighed happily as she admired the sight.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she said with a smile. "Your country is very beautiful."

He smiled back and teasingly tapped her on the nose. "Not as beautiful as you."

She laughed and flopped back on the cool grass, resting her hands behind her head. "So, was this all you wanted to show me, or was there… Something else?"

"Perhaps," he said vaguely, lying down beside her and reaching for her strong little hand.

For a few minutes they simply lay still under the multiplying stars, enjoying the gentle sounds of the evening. The Gla-Thon sighed tiredly.

"When do you think we should tell the others about us?" she asked. "Soon, I should think. We can't keep this a secret forever."

"I know," he agreed sadly. "I just don't… Nothing like this has ever happened in all our history. Would they understand? Would anyone ever understand…?"

She laughed softly and reached up to touch his face. He looked over at her and saw great warmth in her dark eyes.

"I understand," she said. "Unlikely friends find deeper happiness in each other all the time. After all we've been through, why should we be so surprising?"

"Because you are a Dread Gnome, and I am a Ralad. Do you think we can even make this work?"

"We will simply have to. I love you."

He gave her a thankful smile. "I love you, too."

Her smile became a grin, and her face flushed a bit. "No one ever told me so before you."

Thrilled that he had brought his good friend so much joy, he rolled onto his side and leaned a little closer. Close enough to—

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Manus woke with a strangled scream. His heart was hammering in horror inside his chest, and he was covered in clammy sweat. For a long, awful moment, he sat straight up in his bed, trembling in the dark.

"Manus? Are you alright?"

The soft, overly concerned voice beside him made him jump. For a terrible instant, he thought he would turn to find his old companion in bed beside him. Instead, he found himself in the real world.

It was his wife, Charlise, who had spoken. Woken by his screaming, she was peering up at him in worry, looking frightened. And if Manus squinted hard enough into the darkness, he could just make out the shape of the cradle where their firstborn slept. Thankfully, the child had not been woken; or, if he had, he simply wasn't as worried as his mother was.

So now it was quiet, and the world was as it should be. Still shaken by the strangeness of his dream, Manus sank back into his pillow and stared blankly at the ceiling.

"I'm fine," he mumbled to his wife. "It was just a nightmare, so I'm fine…"

"Are you sure?" Charlise asked.

"Of course I am," he answered as lightly as he could, taking her hand reassuringly in his. "I love you. And _no one_ else. Go back to sleep, honey."

Fortunately for him, Charlise was only half-awake and didn't think to question his comment. Even if she had been more awake, it wasn't in her nature. So, mostly convinced that her husband was alright, the Ralad woman closed her eyes and was sleeping again in seconds.

Meanwhile, Manus continued staring at the ceiling, slightly terrified to sleep again, wondering what would happen if he mentioned it to anyone.

_No, no, that one is just going to have to go away,_ he decided. He squeezed his eyes shut, mentally repressing all memory of that dream.

_And….. It's gone. Now, back to sleep with me…_

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Just a small Adventure Time reference to end things. ;D

Charlise is an OC of mine, who you know nothing about. Suffice it to say, I invented her as a love interest for Manus a while back, and suddenly discovered a way to introduce her—as part of this thing! They have a backstory, which I hope to write eventually, and she may be the topic of other installations. Also, here was a nice way to show just how much time has passed. ….._A lot_ of time has passed. :/


	7. The Mirror Ball

Dedicated to ShareneM, a guest reviewer I've noticed has really been enjoying this fic, in the spirit of answering some questions and comments real quick.

1\. You may have noticed, I'm a rather large Lindal fan. She would pop up more often, if only Manus and Gla-Thon hung around her as they do each other. ;D

2\. No, contrary to the previous chapter, I do not ship these two. They are, however, incredibly hilarious when anywhere near each other. XD

3a. Yes, Anna is blonde because I rely heavily on the anime for visual ques. I do this mainly out of spite. It's Emily Rodda and Marc McBride's fault for never actually drawing or even vaguely describing Lief for us. Yeah.

3b. Yes, Lief and Barda's children would obviously get into all their best trouble together. Pop over to the Post-Deltora Stress Syndrome forum and check out the "Next Generation" thread to see some tales we've spun about these potential children.

3c. "Two Little Bears" was a ton of fun for me to write, so I'm glad that you've had a similar blast reading it. :)

4\. I can't get over how sassy Gla-Thon is, either. There is enough sass in this tiny creature for all of Deltora, which is a good thing.

5\. Don't worry, Charlise has a backstory that I plan to write eventually. In the meantime, she is in this a little bit, so you can get to know her better today.

6\. Now read _Star's Journey_. 8D

So, anyway, here's a New Year's prompt.

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_The Mirror Ball_

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It was a fine week to be hailing the new year – all the finer at the palace, where the king and most of his friends had gathered to celebrate. Nearly all of Deltora's greatest heroes had wandered south to Del, mostly complaining of cold and snow and a longing to be together for a time. Even Doom had shown up, insisting all the way that he had merely been in the area and that his arrival was a happy coincidence, though his daughter had shaken her head and said that she knew better.

It was in those last few days of the year that Manus conceived what he thought of as merely his second greatest creation, because his first and most fantastic creation was and always would be his son. Which was funny, he would reflect later, because it began when his son broke a rather fancy-looking mirror while playing at the forge with the twin princes.

All three boys looked perfectly ashamed of themselves and the mess they had made. Manus was faintly annoyed that his son was misbehaving. Jasmine shook her head curtly and shooed the three children out of the way before they cut themselves.

"Never mind," she scoffed, going off to search for a broom. "I never liked that tacky thing to begin with. What am I supposed to do with a mirror, anyway? I already know what I look like."

That aside, she left her sons with a firm but final warning to stay out of her things and stick to destroying their own. Manus was just glad that she wasn't angry, and that she didn't blame his son for the mess.

"Simon, wat have we told you about touching other people's things?" he said to the Ralad child in his gentle way.

"Not to," Simon answered quietly, still looking ashamed of himself and fiddling with something in his hand. "I didn't do it. I mean, I didn't mean to break it. I'm sorry…"

"I'm sure you didn't," Manus agreed, kneeling to look the boy in the eye. "What's that you have there? Show me."

Simon shyly opened his tiny hand and held out a shard of the broken mirror. Manus sighed and shook his head, holding out his own hand to take it, because it wouldn't do to have his young son running around with something so sharp. As the shard passed from the child's hand to his, a flash of light danced across it, winked like a miracle, and vanished.

And in that split second, Manus got an idea.

"Wait here," he told his son. Then he dashed to the back bedroom, where he found Jasmine just finishing with her sweeping.

"Jasmine, can I have the rest of that mirror?" he asked, all delighted smiles, and earning a suspicious glare for it.

"Why?" was the queen's plain response.

"It's for a surprise," he answered. "For the new year."

Now the suspicion fell away from Jasmine's face, and she shrugged faintly. "I'll find you something safe to carry the pieces in, then," she said, striding out with her broom and dustpan to presumably make good on that offer. "If it's a surprise in your capable hands, I'm quite looking forward to it."

"Excellent! Thank you! Now, do you know where I could find other broken mirrors just like it?"

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It had taken some searching, but the following afternoon found Manus in the palace' great hall with an enormous wire ball, a bucket of plaster, a crate full of broken glass, and Gla-Thon to keep him company. It was a good start, so far.

"Manus," his friend said tartly, "when you said you were going to coat this thing in plaster and stick broken mirrors all over it, I thought you were losing your mind. Now that it's taking shape, I can finally see what you were talking about, and I rather like it."

"I'll need to find a ladder later, so I can finish the top half of it; but its really coming together," Manus agreed, smoothing a gob of plaster over the ball's mesh frame.

"Where did you even find this thing, anyway?" Gla-Thon asked, raising an eyebrow at the wire sphere.

"Oh, I made it. Just some scrap iron from the ship yard bent into hoops and covered in some old chicken wire. Hardly elaborate. The work of an afternoon, really. It was so simple, my son helped me with it."

Gla-Thon tilted her head to the side, considering this. "You have a way of making the impossible sound alarming simple."

Manus grinned his thanks, then took a gloved handful of mirror shards and began placing them carefully into the wet plaster. It was like a puzzle, in his mind. Some of the shards were large, some were small, and others were tiny. Some of them had neat angles, and others were sharp and pointy. But in spite of all their different shapes and sizes, he found a place for each one. Just like the people of Deltora, he thought. By his expert hand, they were placed so exactly side by side that hardly any of the plaster shown between them.

It was sort of slow going, Manus supposed, but it would be well worth the effort. His creation would be perfect.

"Wait, wait, wait – I've got it," Gla-Thon gasped suddenly, looking pleased with herself. "I know what we'll do. We'll call it a dis-ko ball!"

Manus looked up from his work and squinted at her. "What is…. _That_?"

"Dis-ko," she answered with a shrug, as if it were obvious. "You know, dis-ko."

"No, I'm afraid I don't know."

"Haven't I told you before? It's a dance of Dread Mountain. You can't have a gnomish celebration of any kind without dis-ko to go along with it. Here, I'll show you."

With no further warning, the gnome burst into what Manus quickly realized was a kind of line dance. The simple steps led her marching forward and back, left and right, and then spun her with a kick to the side to repeat the steps all over again. She ended with a flourish, clicking her heels together and pointing her finger suddenly from the floor to the ceiling.

"You see? Dis-ko. It couldn't be easier," she teased.

"That was very good," Manus agreed, applauding her impressive dancing skills. "But I think I'll stick to the plan and just call it a mirror ball for now."

Gla-Thon crossed her arms and pouted to herself. "Well, I'm calling it a dis-ko ball, because that's what it is," she grumbled.

"But it's not just for that – I mean, I'm sure it can be, too, but my mirror ball is for lots of things," Manus explained patiently as he fitted more shards together. "When its hung from the ceiling and throws its light all over this room, I hope it makes everyone want to dance. I hope it makes you want to dis-ko until the sun rises; but I hope to see our other friends all dancing in their own ways. Perhaps it can even convince some of our shier friends to come out of their shells."

"Like your wife?" Gla-Thon scoffed.

"Charlise is an excellent dancer, thank you very much. And if my mirror ball is as perfect as I expect it will be, I won't have any trouble convincing her to dance with me. We will _bolunga_ long into the night, and never get tired," Manus proclaimed, very proudly, if not also a bit defensively.

To his annoyance, Gla-Thon did a poor job hiding a snort of laughter behind her hand.

"What in heaven and earth is _bolunga_? A dance of Raladin?"

"And every ounce as fun as your dis-ko, I'll have you know."

"Show me, then. Something with a name that ridiculous must be a treat to watch."

Manus smirked and shook his head. "I can't. It's a complicated dance, and only works with a partner who knows what she's doing – like Charlise, who is one of the best I know. I'm afraid you'll just have to wait until New Year's Eve."

With a dissatisfied huff, Gla-Thon went back to her pouting. "I hate waiting…"

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In the days that followed, Manus finally completed his mirror ball; and in the process, nearly everyone in the palace had found a moment to come and stare at it. Manus wasn't sure why people were doing this. The thing was still sitting on the floor of the great hall, not hung from the ceiling like it was supposed to be. Its purpose and true beauty would be totally lost on anyone who saw it this way.

This did not stop the palace staff, guards, or visitors from gawking at his creation as it edged toward completion. All his friends had seen and puzzled over it at least once, at various stages of completeness. Leif and Sharn stuck their heads in the door often to check on him and bring him tea. Jasmine kindly left him his space, though she had stopped once to ask if he could point out a piece of her smashed mirror for her – which he had done happily. Zeean had been charmed by the idea, and had gone off to make Fardeep promise her the first dance in the mirror ball's light. Gers had laughed at it and poked fun at him for making something so silly, if only to try and cover up his childlike delight; and Zerry's eyes had gone wide at the sight of something so large and shiny, which he once would have stolen in a heartbeat.

_All_ of Lindal and Barda's children had seen it. Manus knew, because he had counted them all. Pollux, the older of their twin boys, had taken one look at it and announced that he was going to punch it. Castor, the younger and calmer twin, had tackled him to the floor and stopped him before he had taken two steps. By the time their parents had pried them off each other and hauled them out, muttering embarrassed apologies over their shoulders, each boy had a black eye and was under indefinite punishment.

Happily, Ursa, Sirius, and Europa, the older three of them, were calm and pleasant and had remarked that just looking at the mirror ball mad them want to dance. This was unsurprising, and in fact quite pleasing. Last of all, there was Mintaka – or just Min, as her father loved to call her – who was barely toddling and no trouble at all. Yet.

Doom had wandered in once, asked the ubiquitous, "What is _that_?" like everyone else had, and stood in his usual silence as the mirror ball was explained yet again. The man had stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned on his heel, striding away without a word. Manus hadn't seen him since then, and wondered what it meant.

And then – obviously – there was Gla-Thon, who had watched the mirror ball grow and change over the days, and was still referring to it as a _dis-ko_ ball whenever she found the chance. Manus hated to say that he was defensive about his creation, since it was just a thing at the end of the day; but his friend's stubbornness was beginning to irritate him just a little.

Yet only two were with him to see as the final mirror shard was placed at the very top of the sphere. While Manus teetered on the top step of a ladder, his wife was holding it steady for him, and his son was making silly faces at himself in the hundreds of tiny mirrors.

"It is quite a thing, my dear," Charlise commented in her quiet voice, smiling over the sight of the competed creation. "Is it everything you had hoped it would be?"

"And more, I think," Manus agreed, standing back a bit to look his work over. "Everyone is so excited about it, and it's done just in time for tonight."

Charlise' face became a bit nervous, and her gaze floated up to the arched ceiling. "Now all that's left is to… Get it up _there_, somehow… Have you any ideas?"

"Oh, a fair few."

"Are any of them _safe_?"

"Well, one of them involves a few palace guards with a pulley, and Gers doing most of the heavy lifting; but I don't like it very much, and I'm not sure if anyone would volunteer for it. All I know is that I'm going to need a pulley and a very long rope. We have rope around here, don't we?"

Charlise shrugged. "I don't think we thought to pack any when we left Raladin. I hadn't expected any projects, though by now I should have known better. If there isn't already a list waiting for you, you always find one for yourself."

Simon squeaked suddenly and raised his hand, waving frantically for his parents' attention.

"Yes, son?" Charlise asked.

"The king has a rope," the boy supplied happily. "A whole bunch! It's in the forge! Jarred showed me. And then we kind of made a mess and got it all tangled up… But there's a big long rope in the forge! I know where it is!"

"Well, there's an idea," Manus agreed, scrambling back down the ladder. "It's a place to start, at least. I'll go ask if I can borrow it. You are just full of good ideas, Simon. A chip off the old block, if there ever was one."

Simon jumped up and cheered proudly. "Yay! I am helpful!" he crowed, watching himself strut around in front of the mirror ball – mainly just to entertain himself, but also because he was plainly bursting with pride. Charlise watched him with a hint of worry in her eyes, and shook her head sort of sadly.

"I don't know how I feel about that," she murmured. "Oh, if he is anything at all like you, he will be completely brilliant; and that means he will be in some sort of trouble all the time."

Manus put his arm around her for comfort. "Then he will use his brilliant brain to get out of all that trouble. But we can worry about that another day. For now, there's a task to be finished. I'm going to the forge to borrow that rope, and I'm bringing Simon with me. Would you like to go with us?"

As he had expected, Charlise hummed nervously and looked at the floor. He loved it that she agreed to come with him on his trips to Del, but she had always been cripplingly shy and had a difficult time engaging any of his friends. Let alone the king and queen, no matter how kind and welcoming they were to her, or how long she had known them.

"Come on, it will be fun," he insisted, pulling her closer and partially dragging her along with him. "It's just a short walk to the bottom of the hill, to visit friends and ask for a length of rope. And perhaps a quick cup of hot tea on a day like today. And they'll be so happy to see you again! You know, they still hardly know you at all after all this time."

Charlise blanched at the suggestion of having to sit and have a conversation with people she didn't know. She tried to hide it from her husband and his unshakable enthusiasm; but he noticed it anyway, and quickly changed the discussion.

"Of course, we have a lot of work to do with the mirror ball, and so our visit will be very short. I'll just get the rope from Lief, and we'll hurry right back. I promise."

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And, of course, the royal couple had tried their best to make that visit last as long as possible. But Manus had remained true to his word, and had finished his business at the forge in less than fifteen minutes. In all honesty, it had only taken that long because he and Leif had to untangle the rope from the boys' playing. As he and his family had marched back up the hill, he had carried an impressive length of rope coiled over his shoulder, while Simon carried a pulley with an air of importance.

"I'm glad you mentioned it," Leif had said when the task at hand had been explained. "I just so happen to have an old pulley in here somewhere – if my boys haven't destroyed that, too. You can use that, if you'd like."

It had been slightly dented and a little rusty, but in good shape. Several hours later, Manus was also glad that he had said something. The pulley had served its purpose to perfection. The mirror ball was finally hung from the ceiling of the great hall, right between the two great iron chandeliers and all their candles. There was no flicker of candlelight, no faint beam of light anywhere in the room, that wouldn't be caught in the mirror ball.

Already, as it spun gently in the center of the ceiling, flashes of light were dancing on the walls and the floor. It was already glorious to behold. Manus stood back a bit with his family and the guards who had volunteered to help him hang the thing, and sighed with satisfaction.

"Another project finished," he commented, nodding his head and planting his fists on his hips. "What do you think, honey?"

"It is perfect, just like you hoped it would be," Charlise agreed. "Sometimes I wish you would just make nice, normal things like shovels or bricks, because those sorts of things are useful and noble, and would keep you at home and out of danger. But then you make wonders like this, and I feel so foolish for wishing such a thing."

"So, will you dance with me at the celebration tonight?"

Charlise pinned him with a frightened look, and he immediately wished he hadn't brought it up. Then she surprised him by smiling a bit.

"After all the hard work you've done, of course I will. There isn't much I wouldn't do for you."

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It had been a brand new year for all of 15 minutes, and it seemed like the celebration might go on as it was for several more days. Music was playing, wine was flowing, and everyone was dancing in the light of the mirror ball, each in his or her own way.

Manus had stopped to rest for a moment, and to look out over the sight of his friends, to appreciate how they all looked at spoke and danced so differently from one another. There were slow waltzes, lively jigs, spirited lines dances, and of course there was Gla-Thon and her _dis-ko_. On the other end of the hall, Manus could see her trying to teach her own dance to Gers, who was swaying and blinking after her in amazement, doing a poor job of following the steps but enjoying himself all the same.

It felt to him as if he had seen this moment, in that same instant as he had first thought of the mirror ball. It felt as though, when that beam of light had first danced across the mirror shard that had started it all, the idea of the mirror ball had come fully formed into it his mind; and with it had come a vision of all his friends together, dancing in all their varied ways in its light, and very alike in happiness and friendship. He hadn't realized it until now, but it was an idea had been working towards all along.

Now it lay before his eyes, just as he had seen it. Just as he had hoped it would be, in the end. And it really was all he had wanted it to be.

Lost in thought, he was startled by a sudden presence beside him. He looked up in time to catch Gla-Thon punching his shoulder playfully, though a little too hard.

"You and your _dis-ko_ ball," she teased. "You did good."

Manus smiled back and rubbed his arm, not even mad that she still refused to call his creation what it was. "I believe they want to keep it here at the palace, to be put up for other special celebrations. I don't mind that, actually; I have no way of transporting it home safely or easily, and nowhere to put it."

"That's a shame. You worked so hard on it."

"Not really. It was very simple, and honestly took little time or skill. They offered to pay for the thing, but I told them to think of it as a gift, a token of our friendship."

Gla-Thon huffed at him. "That is incredibly generous of you. I don't suppose you'd say the same to me, if I asked you to make one for the Dream Gnomes?"

Manus smirked at her and shook his head. "No, I'm afraid I must charge for commissions. Friendly gifts don't keep my family fed, after all."

"I thought so," Gla-Thon sighed, stuffing her hands in her pockets. When she pulled them back out, she held a money pouch in each hand.

"So, which one?" she asked, holding them out for him to see. "One is bigger, but I think the smaller one has a few gems inside. Garnets? Rubies? Something red, I can't remember."

Manus stood back a bit and looked at her incredulously. "Oh. Now I know what you mean, when you say I make the impossible sound possible. But… If there are red gems in the smaller bag, I suppose I'll take that one."

She handed him the pouch with a grin, clearly excited over her purchase. "When will you have our _dis-ko_ ball finished? How will you get it to Dread Mountain?"

"I haven't thought of any of that just yet," Manus insisted, tipping the pouch open into his hand. "You're the first customer I've ever had. Wait a moment…"

He picked a small, round object out of the coins in his hand and held it up to the mirrored light. It had a brilliant sheen, but was smooth and completely colorless.

"Gla-Thon, these are pearls."

The gnome frowned in puzzlement, then opened her larger money pouch and peered anxiously inside.

"Oh…. The garnets were in this one the whole time. My mistake."

Manus frowned and handed the smaller pouch back.

"Well, I want that one, then."

"No. You already picked the one you wanted," she insisted, back away defensively, prompting her friend to go after her.

"You gave me the wrong one! I can take you before a judge for that, you know."

"You would never."

"Maybe."

"I gave you the money! What more do you want from me?"

"Well, I suppose there is one thing more, if you want your precious _dis-ko_ ball."

"Oh? And what might that be?"

"A dancing lesson. Teach me this _dis-ko_ of yours."

A look of delight came over Gla-Thon's face. She barked a laugh and pushed Manus toward the dancing crowd.

"That's fair enough. But now you have to teach me your _bolunga_ at our next gathering."

"Bring garnets to our next gathering, and you've got yourself a deal."

And so the new year began. And if it was already so full of dancing, it was sure to be a good one.

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_Afterthoughts…_

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The line dance Gla-Thon demonstrates at the beginning is an actual disco move called the Bus Stop, with the ubiquitous point at the end. I'm sure she was also moonwalking on the dancefloor at some point. :P

_Bolunga_ is a word I made up. I like to think it's similar to tango, because the thought of Ralads tangoing makes me smile.

Also, I apologize for the lack of silliness in the middle. I'm trying to phase into writing Charlise' backstory, because it's awesome, so I thought I'd throw her in here.

Happy New Year, all! Here's to another year of good writing and fun times!


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